Cassie is a very pretty 12 years old Collie X who came into Oldies Club care in January 2024 after her owner sadly passed away. When she first arrived she was a bit stressed and panting but quickly seemed to calm down. She was rather matted in certain parts of her body and her nails were very long. Her mobility was slow and compromised, most likely due to the overgrown nails. She was struggling to walk and get back up after lying down. A trip to the groomers was arranged where she received a good brush out and her nails tidied up.
She soon started to chill and come out of her shell. Despite her mobility issues Cassie gets excited when the lead comes out. A vet check confirmed she was overweight which also was contributing to her issues so Cassie was put on a diet. Cassie was also prescribed metacalm to help with her joints.
Cassie suffers with rather high blood pressure and this needed to be investigated and to find the cause. She underwent blood tests and the results came back suggesting she was potentially suffering heart disease. Cassie was booked in for an ECG and scan. She was diagnosed with Chronic Mitral Degeneration as well as severe hypertension and osteoarthritis. She was placed on medication to help with her blood pressure and pain relief.
Due to her medical issues and regular monitoring she requires for them, it was decided that Cassie would be placed in our sponsor dog scheme. This means she will remain in her lovely foster home on a permanent basis, with the charity paying her vet bills for the rest of her life.
Cassie is very dog friendly and is currently living with a number of other dogs at her foster home. She is happy to see dogs when out on a walk and she wants to stop to say hello to them. In her previous home she lived with three other dogs.
Cassie loves to go out for a walk but she is very, very slow. She has a distinctive gait, due to osteoarthritis, but she still absolutely loves going out! Cassie currently goes for one 15 to 30 minute walk per day, but in this time she only covers about 500-1500m. Cassie can become rather put out when she is left behind when the other dogs in the household go for their longer walkies. To help with this her fosterers purchased a chariot for Cassie which can be attached to bike which means she can come out on longer outings but can ride in comfort and not miss out of the day trips.
To keep her in tip top condition Cassie often visits the groomers for a bath, brush out and a tidy up. The groomer kindly allocates the whole morning so that it can be as stress free as possible for Cassie and kindly only charges to cover her costs. Every time Cassie comes back looking beautiful and smelling fresh.
Cassie loves food! She arrived overweight and her fosterers have worked on getting her to lose weight. Cassie has low calorie treats such as carrots that have been soaked in stock and then frozen. She also enjoys them making a gentle fuss of her and she also likes being stroked and gently brushed while lying in “her spot” in the living room.
If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor Cassie, or one of the other special oldies we are caring for in our sponsor dog scheme.